Rasos

If St Anne’s Church had the ability to reincarnate and reproduce itself at different times, the Baroque version would probably be very similar to the Missionaries’ Church. As one art historian has aptly observed, this sanctuary is a graceful Gothic in a splendid Baroque garb. Indeed, it is one of the most impressive churches in Vilnius – not only do the towers soar high, but the hill on which it is built stands out in the surrounding landscape. The missionaries settled here in 1686, expanding and beautifying the ensemble and building a rich library. Laurynas Gucevičius studied for a while in the seminary that was operating here. In 1844, the monastery was dissolved by order of the Tsarist government. The church continued to function intermittently, but finally in 1948, it was closed down too, and used mainly for storage purposes.

The short street with its preserved stone pavement, or rather its name, reminds us that this was one of the three main waterworks of old Vilnius for centuries. The Vingrių Springs flowed from the west, while the Aušros Vartai Springs from the south, and the Misionierių Springs, or Žiupronių Springs, from the east, i.e., from where you are standing now. It is noted that the springs were abundant, producing as much as 24,000 buckets of water a day! The name Žiupronys comes from the fact that the springs were located next to the road leading to the royal estate of Žiupronys. The water supply system changed dramatically in the early 20th century, the springs disappeared, and the town (Жупраны) found itself on the territory of present-day Belarus, with only the name of the street remaining.

At a very similar time to the male missionaries, in 1694, the Visitation Sisters settled in the neighbourhood. Interestingly, the stone church of the Visitation Sisters is as different as night and day from the neighbouring church built by the missionaries – one gracefully elongated, the other rather stocky and robust. Between 1864 and 1865, the Catholic nuns were replaced by the sisters of the Mary Magdalene Convent and the place of worship became an Orthodox church. In the inter-war period, the church again became Catholic, the world–famous painting of the Divine Merciful Jesus was painted in the monastery’s premises, where Helena Kowalska–St. Faustina told the artist Eugenijus Kazimirowsky about her visions. During the Soviet era, the ensemble met a sad fate: it became a prison. Much of the interior of the church was destroyed, and ceilings were added. The prisoners were evicted only in 2006–2007. Since 2009, the buildings of the former monastery have been occupied by the Blessed Father Mykolas Sopočka Hospice.

The abandoned building, which is sophisticated in shape and angled towards the street, is a former railway goods warehouse. Today, there are no tracks leading to it, as they were dismantled a decade ago during the construction of Druja Street. The building was erected in 1936 and has a retrospective character, echoing earlier architectural styles. It is worth noting that at the time of its construction, modernism was the dominant style of modesty and functionality, so that in the 1930s this warehouse building must have clearly stood out in the context. Another former railway outbuilding, albeit less impressive, can be seen across the street.

This place will appeal to dark tourism buffs. The House of Correction is a fully functioning institution, with around 500 inmates serving their sentences. Members of the so-called ‘Vilnius Brigade’, H. Daktaras and members of other notorious gangs have done time here. The territory of the penitentiary is home to an unusual inclusion – a small manor in the classicist style. It is not visible to the ordinary city dweller, but you can get a bird’s-eye view of it on the internet (e.g., Bing Maps). Just outside the fence of the existing complex, the gloomy buildings of the former correctional facility stood until autumn 2019. During the Soviet era, it was a state-owned enterprise where prisoners made furniture, shoes, tools, appliances, manhole covers, and other products of all kinds. The factory closed in 2006 and began to attract fans of post-apocalyptic places.

Although a large monument was erected in the city centre between the wars to the memory of Juozapas Montvila, a wealthy banker at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, he is most famous for his five appealing residential terraced house quarters known as the Montvila Colonies: Aguonų, Poguliankos, Šnipiškių, Rasų ir Lukiškių. The latter, with its colourful Art Nouveau houses, is familiar to everyone. However, it is sometimes stated that the Rasų colony was the most dear to the founder. The idea was simple, yet not bad – to create an urban-garden-type settlement, combining the advantages of urban life with those of the countryside, such as greenery and the opportunity to grow fruit and vegetables. Construction work was carried out over several years, starting in 1898. Although the architectural style of the colony is homogeneous, the houses are varied and there was something to suit all tastes and budgets, from luxurious detached houses to relatively modest semi-detached terraced houses. Stanislav Fleury, one of Vilnius’ most famous photographers, lived in the colony, as did the famous conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.

Although it is not part of the Rasų Colony, the former villa of Major General Alexander Mushnikov (P. Višinskio g. 27) has many of its characteristic features. This house was built in 1903 according to a design of the architect Augustas Kleinas, the same architect who worked diligently on the design of the adjacent colony. Mušnikov’s villa was distinguished not only by its size but also by its level of comfort. Inside, there were luxurious baths, toilets (a novelty at the time) ,and built-in wardrobes. The exterior of the building is decorated with carved woodwork, an expressive turret and a staircase with flower pots. It is currently a block of flats. The ‘Šypsena’ nursery school at P. Višinskio g. 23 is also housed in a magnificent building built in 1892, which was the former residence of the Counts of Golicinskiai.

Which hill do you think of when you hear the word ‘Liepkalnis’? Many people think of the one at the junction of Minsko plentas and Liepkalnio g., the one with the ski slopes on it. However, this ‘peak’, which was artificially raised in 1982, is officially called ‘Laimis Hill’, after the founder of the ‘Slope’ ski club (‘Šlaitas’), Laimis Janutėnas. But the real Linden Tree Hill, from which the name of the adjacent main street derives, is to be found in Rasos. Teodoras Narbutas said that it was here that ancient pagans gathered to celebrate the longest day of the year – the midsummer Rasos festival. Note the avenue of neatly planted linden trees, which not only justifies the name of the hill, but also raises all sorts of speculations – could there have been a luxurious mansion here in the past? Historians do not have an answer to this question yet, nor to the romantic hypotheses about an ancient Lithuanian pagan temple that may have stood here. For a 21st century Vilnius resident, this hill will not only be an interesting place to recreate the history of the site in his or her own way, but also to enjoy an exceptional panorama of the city, with spectacular views in as many as three directions: Naujininkai, Ribiškių and the Old Town. As the hill is surrounded by lush vegetation, the best time to feast your eyes is after the trees have shed their leaves.

If we were to choose the cemetery of all cemeteries in Vilnius, there would probably be two options: the one in Antakalnis – from the Second World War to the present day, and the place of rest in Rasos – a century and a half before the Second World War. The latter was the first cemetery in Lithuania outside the city, established in a vacant lot, not near a church. In its present location, it was established in 1801 and became the harbinger of a new fashion for removing necropolises from church basements and churchyards in the city centre. Interestingly, when this cemetery was established, noble citizens avoided being buried in it, as it had always been accepted that only the poor – orphans, victims of plague, cholera, etc. – were to be buried in the countryside. However, it eventually became a normal phenomenon, and one after another, the most famous personalities of the first half of the 19th and 20th centuries were laid to rest here, including J. Basanavičius, M. K. Čiurlionis, A. Vivulskis, V. Mykolaitis–Putinas, B. Sruoga, J. Montvilas, J. and M. Šlapeliai, the Vileišiai family… And this was just the beginning! In November 2019, the remains of the rebels of 1863–1864, who were found on the hill of Gediminas Castle, were reinterred in the neo-Gothic central chapel. For Poles, Rasų Cemetery has a special significance due to the burial, in a separate complex, of the heart of Józef Pilsudski and his mother. On the other side of Sukilėlių g. is the New Rasų Cemetery, established in 1912, but it is almost devoid of famous figures. Incidentally, the Rasų Cemetery used to have another name in the past – Misionierių (after the missionary monks who maintained it).

Sources from the second half of the 19th century attest that the present–day territories of Rasos and Markučiai were dotted with various taverns, inns, eateries, and restaurants. It is easy to understand – you could neither work the land nor build a house in such a carved landscape, but it was an ideal place to escape the dirty smells and dust of the city by climbing one of the nearby hills to see the picturesque scenery. One of the most famous taverns in the area at the time was called ‘Żelazna Chatka’ (The Iron Hut). It had a buffet, a bowling alley, a bandstand, an orchestra, and a market located at the foot of the inn, packed with merchants’ tents. It is said that here, relatives used to say goodbye to their loved ones before they were deported to Siberia by rail. Unfortunately, it is still unclear exactly where this legendary inn stood. It is sometimes speculated that the Iron Hut name not only referred to this particular establishment but also to the wider area. Eventually, even the name of the street shrank from Iron Hut to just Iron Street, which is nevertheless a reminder of the famous inn that used to stand here. Walking further along this street today, you can still escape the hustle and bustle of the city and feel the slower passage of time than we are used to.